Dream Walker
by nothing but blue
Summary: I'm not running from anything.' Her voice came out soft and unsteady. 'You are. These past few months you've been walking around like you're in some bad dream, Tenten. Just stop. Wake up. I know what it feels like. To lose the people you love.' NejixTen


A/N: Hey you guys! Okay, this is my first fic I'm posting up here. To tell you the truth, I'm actually a bit disappointed with it. It definitely did not turn out the way I wanted it to. But I'd gladly accept any criticism or advice that you guys might have. Hopefully, some people will enjoy it.

Dream Walker

"_Mom! Dad! I'm home!" She closed the door behind her and looked around. Hello? Anyone ho—" She stopped short as her nose picked up the all too familiar smell of blood. _

_She ran into the living room. She closed her eyes at the sight before her. Pale bodies. Her parents' blood staining her living room floor. She didn't scream. She refused to. _

_Instead, she walked stiffly over to the telephone on the other side of the house, dialing the number to the Hokage's office. "Tell Tsunade-sama that Tenten is requesting a clean up crew at her house right away. It's urgent." Her own voice sounded loud and ringing in her ears. _

_She sat there, leaning against the wall, staring blankly at their dead bodies. How could this be happening? This couldn't be real. It had to be a dream. It just had to . . . _

_She didn't even hear the clean up crew arriving. All that her tearless eyes could do was stare and stare, seeing things that no one else could. _

_Only one thought went through her head._

'_This is my fault.' _

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"_Tenten." Her name rolled off his tongue so easily now that it scared her sometimes._

"_What is it, Neji?" She didn't even look up from the paperwork that she was trying to complete to acknowledge him. "I'm a little busy right now. Maybe later."_

_She refused to tell him that she had been trying to avoid him all this time. Neji was a complication. He confused her and made her feel things that a kunoichi like her should never feel. And she didn't need any more confusion in her life._

"_Tenten," he said again, and something in his tone made her look up. "You're always busy now." He said it as if were bad._

_Her answer was guarded. "That's the whole point of work." She quickly went back to writing._

_It took him awhile to think of how to phrase his question. He didn't want to seem too…unlike himself to her. In the end, he just gave up and asked bluntly. "Are you okay?"_

_For some reason, his question angered her more than anything else he could have said. "And why wouldn't I be okay, Neji! It's been over half a year. I can take care of myself!" she yelled at him, pounding her fist against the table. She still didn't look up to meet his eyes. _

"_And you've been driving yourself into working like a maniac in a pathetic attempt to distract yourself the whole time," he replied, his voice as fierce as she had ever heard it. "You don't speak to anyone anymore, and you refuse to train with me. You're losing connection with the world and wasting away in this damn office—"_

"_What do you suggest I do!" She looked up at him, her eyes burning with a fierce kind of sorrow. "Tell me! What else is there now that they're gone! Tell me, Hyuuga Neji! What else is there!"_

_He tried to control himself and not yell back at her. The last thing he had wanted to do was make her more upset. They hadn't even exchanged ten sentences and she was already worked up. _

_He had tried to help…But it was best that he just leave. For her sake. _

"_Don't work yourself to death. It won't help and it's not healthy." _

_And then he was gone._

_She cried that night for the first time since her parents' deaths. Cried for all the things she had lost and all the dreams that she knew would never be._

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This mission was simple, but important. So important that Tsunade had sent out twelve experienced jounin to complete it. This mission's success was vital for the protection of the village, the Hokage had said gravely.

They were to head out into Rain country to locate and destroy a Stone-nin hideout that was supposed to be somewhere in the forest. They had found the hundred or so enemy nin in an abandoned dojo on the outskirts of the country.

After several days of scouting and strategizing, Shikamaru had come up with a plan. Hinata and Sakura would stay in the designated meeting point, just in case someone was mortally wounded. Kiba, Shino, and Ino would cover the perimeter and make sure no one escaped, while Shikamaru, Sasuke, Naruto, Rock Lee, and Neji had each been assigned a section of the dojo to eliminate. Tenten, he had told them, would be jumping from rooftop to rooftop, backing up the boys and making sure nothing went wrong.

She had argued, saying that she wanted to be in the front line; that she could fight just as well as the rest of them. Because she wanted to help. She wanted to protect her village and her friends.

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"_Shikamaru! You can't do this! I want to fight." Tenten tried to keep her voice down because the others were already asleep. _

"_I know that Tenten, and that's why I assigned you a place in the dojo, where you'll get the most action," Shikamaru replied tiredly. "Can't we talk about this lat—"_

"_I want to be _in_ the action. Don't give me that crap about how important my position is when all I'm going to be doing is throwing weapons around while hiding like a coward." _

"_Tenten," Shikamaru pleaded. "I'm trying my best here."_

"_Let me do my best too, Shika." _

_Her eyes were serious. She really wanted this. Who was he to refuse? "I suppose…" He was cut off as a new voice joined the conversation._

"_No, her skills would be best suited for where you put her." The voice was deep and firm, and Tenten knew who it was the second he uttered the first word._

"_Stay out of this Neji." She didn't turn to face him. She hadn't spoke to him directly since the incident in her office._

"_It'll be bloody out there. And it won't be easy. You would be most effective doing what Shikamaru said."_

"_I don't give a damn where I'll be most effective," she hissed, her eyes boring into his angrily. "I want to fight."_

_Shikamaru had had enough. He finally decided to put his foot down. "Tenten, you will go where I assigned you. Is that clear?" After all, he thought, it would be too troublesome to move her anywhere else. He would have to rearrange everything._

_She stared at him for a second, a surprised look on her face. Shikamaru barely ever exercised his authority as captain, and for him to use that tone meant that it was probably best she listened to him. She tossed one final glare at Neji, before turning back to Shikamaru._

"_Fine." _

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Tenten scanned her surroundings from her perch on the rooftops. Everyone seemed to be in their positions, and she could see Neji and Sasuke already moving into rooms to attack their opponents stealthily.

Shikamaru had told them to kill as many people as possible before the other Stone nin were alerted.

An ear-shattering scream pierced the night air, followed by colorful cursing coming from what she knew was their very own blonde-haired fox boy. Immediately, the dojo was bursting with activity. Kunai and shiruken flew everywhere and parts of the earth were breaking apart seemingly of their own accord to attack the Konoha nin.

"The power of youth shall prevail!" Tenten winced as she heard the familiar voice of her teammate, the green beast of Konoha. Even in battle, he still used that corny phrase. She sighed while aiming a kunai at a Stone shinobi. It hit him right in the neck, as expected.

She still wasn't happy with where she was. But if she was going to be stuck with a back-up task, she would do it damn well. Ten kunai left her fingers, each one taking down the enemy.

_Things seem to be doing fine here,_ she thought, watching Sasuke and Neji weave through their opponents with a grace and poise only they could possibly pull off. She ignored the fact that her gaze lingered just a little too long on her pale-eyed teammate. She definitely was _not_ worried about _him_ of all people.

She made her way out of that area of the dojo and helped out Naruto with his opponents. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Shikamaru stab through an enemy nin before melting back into the shadows to find his next target.

Her eyes met Naruto's shining blue ones, and he gave a nod of appreciation. She only smiled back, before leaving to check on Kiba and Shino.

_Everything's fine there. Ouch, that looked sore._ She winced as Akamaru bit an enemy in a place she'd rather not think about.

A shiruken zipped by her cheek, a thin line of blood marking its path. She only blinked, bringing her hand up to feel the blood. "Too careless," she muttered.

She quickly left the area, heading back to the center of the dojo, where she knew Sasuke and Neji would be. Of all people, she knew that they needed the least help. But still, she didn't feel comfortable not being able to guard Neji's blind spot like she always did.

Of course this meant nothing. It was only a routine after all.

"Kuso," she swore as she saw how many ninja had surrounded the two Konoha nin. Without a second thought, she launched a volley of weapons at the outermost part of the circle and pulled out her katana, wielding it with the skill of the weapon's master she was.

She joined the fray, trying to ignore the fact that she was disobeying direct orders. Splatters of blood that was not her own already covered her clothes and skin. But she didn't care. This was for Konoha. She had to kill. She had to kill for the people she loved.

More and more Stone nin were coming to her now, thinking she was easy prey, even as the number of dead bodies piled up around her.

And then she saw it. A flash of dark, brown hair and silver eyes, and then blood. She couldn't stop the scream from escaping her lips. "Neji!"

A kunai had come from behind. A lucky shot really. Right in his blind spot. He had sensed it and turned around a second too late. And the sharp, unforgiving edge of the kunai cut his chest, his blood littering the wooden floors of the dojo.

She should have been there. She should have been there to protect his blind spot. If only she had been there sooner…

He looked up at her, and even from across the battle-field she could see the look of pure fear in his gray orbs.

"Tenten!"

She turned, but it was already too late. She managed to avoid the blow directed at her heart, but the kunai still went right through her shoulder. The only sound she let herself make was a grunt of pain, and by then her katana was already embedded painfully into the nin's stomach. He let out a choking, gurgling noise before falling to the ground in a pile of bloody limbs.

Tenten fell to her knees, the pain in her shoulder almost unbearable. She could sense more of them coming. She had to stand up. _Pain doesn't matter. Get up!_ There were five of them, all heading straight for her from different angles. She held her katana at ready, already thinking of a battle plan.

But it wasn't needed.

The shinobi didn't even know what hit them as Neji's own sword cut through them like a knife through butter, his speed making him almost too fast to even see. Her blurring vision did not allow her to admire his quick, graceful movements as she usually did. All she could do was give an almost inaudible sigh of relief and lower her weapon, her shoulder throbbing and almost _alive_ with pain. Her own blood already covered the right side of her body, mingling with the blood of the others she had already killed.

He was in front of her within seconds, there to catch her as her knees gave out yet again. A flash of blurry grays, browns, and blacks and she was back on the rooftops, in Neji's arms. In other circumstances, she might have appreciated this thoughtful gesture. But this was battle. This was a mission.

She pushed him away with her left arm forcefully. "Neji what are you doing?" She stared at the two Nejis before her with all the anger she could muster. "Get back to your position! The mission will be jeopardized if you leave your post just to—" Ragged coughs racked her body, blood dribbling down her chin as she regained her breath.

"You need to get that wound treated." His face betrayed a small frown as he set her down on the rooftop with more gentleness than she knew he possessed.

"No! I'm fine!" she shouted, pulling her arm away savagely and standing up much too quickly. She swayed for a while, but stood her ground. "My aim's just as good with my left hand as with my right." To prove her point, she threw five shiruken with her left hand, killing a ninja down below. One missed, but she chose to ignore it.

"Look, the people _you're_ supposed to be covering are overflowing to Sasuke and you know how important this mission is to Konoha and you're injured." She knew she was babbling but she couldn't stop. "I'll do better. I'm sorry, but I'll do better. I'll be stronger and—" She stopped abruptly as Neji pulled her into his arms before she could protest.

He tried in vain to ignore the blood already beginning to soak his shirt. _Her_ blood. _Tenten's_ blood.

She saw him glance downward at the Uchiha still fighting on the ground below. "He seems to be doing fine to me," his voice was carefully empty, but Tenten could tell he was stressed by the subtle tightening of his jaw and the way his eyebrows creased just so. After all, they had been partners for the last nine years.

Tenten spared a glance downward toward the Uchiha survivor. He did indeed seem to be doing fine by himself. In fact, he seemed to be enjoying his new freedom of being able to use his chakra once again after 3 years in house arrest.

But still . . .

She did not want Neji to see her like this. Weak and bleeding. She was already having a hard enough time staying conscious in front of him and if—

She couldn't help but let out a yelp of pain as Neji shifted her in his arms. Black dots swam before her eyes.

"Kuso," he muttered under his breath. He would never show it, but he was on the verge of panic. For a moment, his entire brain shut down as he saw the agonized look on her face. "Kuso," he swore again, realizing that Tenten was seriously injured and bleeding in his arms and he was just standing around _arguing_ with her.

He headed away from the flaming dojo and toward the forest, where he knew that Sakura and Hinata would be waiting for him. Should he have removed the kunai? Or would that have caused her to bleed to death? Was the tip coated with poison? What if she—died?

His gaze became steely. No, he would never allow Tenten to die. She needed him, and—he needed her. She was his partner and his friend and maybe…maybe something more. His speed increased as he spotted the clearing where they had planned to meet after destroying the Stone nin lair.

He landed in the clearing as softly as possible, careful not to further agitate Tenten's wound.

"The kunai went right through her shoulder about five minutes ago." He hoped that he didn't sound as worried as he was. "I—"

Sakura cut him off. "Neji, get me hot water." She gave him the authoritive look of an experienced medical nin. "Now!" He was gone before the word died on her lips.

Hinata was already working at tearing the blood-soaked clothes around the wound off. She bit her lip as she looked at the kunai embedded deep into the flesh. "Sakura…" she began hesitatingly.

"We have to take it out," Sakura said, biting her lip as well when she saw the severity of the wound. "Tenten, what did you do?" she whispered.

Sakura grabbed the handle of the kunai, making sure her hands were steady and sure. _One, two, three._ Blood splattered all over the both of them as the kunai came out without a hitch. An agonized groan escaped Tenten's lips as she writhed in pain beneath them. Sakura immediately brought the bloody kunai closer to her face, examining the tip with calculating green eyes. Hinata's healing chakra was already pouring out of her hands to heal the wound.

"It's too deep, Sakura. I can barely even stop the bleeding." Hinata's Byakugan was activated as she spoke. "It tore right through the tissue and muscle. It even chipped off part of the bone…"

The look on Sakura's face darkened as she examined the kunai. "It's poisoned." She sniffed it. "I don't know what it is, but I don't think it should be too dangerous. We shouldn't heal this wound with chakra. We have to let her body go through the process of healing itself. Who knows what would happen if the poison stayed in her system while we sealed the wound."

Hinata nodded solemnly in agreement. "I'll just keep on trying to stop the blood loss," she told her partner.

They hadn't noticed that Neji had come back with a hot pot of water and a warm rag in his hands until he kneeled right next to him.

Sakura took the rag and pot out of his hands and started to clean the wound gently. "Neji, please get me the bandages."

Right then, Naruto stepped into the clearing, a nasty looking cut on his arm. Hinata looked up at him, her eyes widening at the cut. He shot her his trademark smile. "No worries, Hinata. Just a scratch. I finished my part of the assignment already. The others are helping Sasuke finish off his section of the hideout. Dunno where Neji went but . . ." The happy look in his blue eyes faded as his eyes rested upon Tenten's bloody, and all too pale body. "You just take care of her."

Only then did Naruto notice Neji's presence in the clearing. A soft 'oh' came out of his mouth as he realized where Neji had gone. Of course he would put Tenten above a mission, even if it was a big one like this. He knew that Neji would never have abandoned his post without a proper reason.

"What happened to her?" Naruto asked softly, noticing the tight look on the Hyuuga prodigy's face as he looked at the pale girl. Neji's grey eyes turned to meet Naruto's with a look he couldn't quite recognize.

"Stabbed through the shoulder with a poisoned kunai," he said shortly before turning back to the two medic nins and their patient.

"I see…" said Naruto, not knowing what else he could say, as he sat down under a tree, waiting for the others to arrive.

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She woke up with the dizzying feeling that she had been run over with a truck. She struggled to open her eyes, despite the fact that her whole body was on fire with pain, especially her shoulder. Memories came rushing back to her and she sat up quickly. The mission!

Tenten groaned as the pain increased tenfold and the world span before her eyes, a blurry mass of colors and distorted shapes. She felt gentle hands push her down slowly while she closed her eyes again.

"Tenten?" the feeble voice of Hinata reached her ears.

"Yeah?" Her voice felt scratchy and dry. And she swallowed, mentally berating herself. Weak.

"Oh, thank goodness you're awake. It's amazing. You should have been out for at least a couple more days just from the blood loss."

She was having trouble hearing the shy girl's words. Everything was so sore . . . Where was Neji? What was going on? So tired . . .

In the background, she could faintly make out Sakura yelling at what seemed to be Sasuke for being reckless or something of the sort. Shadows and orange light (from the fire?) danced across her line of vision.

"The mission . . ."

"Naruto and Sasuke are back. They say the others are just cleaning up. It was successful, Tenten. Don't worry. Naruto has a minor injury, but he'll live. I think you're the only one who got seriously injured."

She could already feel unconsciousness creeping up on her, but somehow, she had to know about _him._ She needed to know if he was alright.

"Neji . . ." She cursed her lips for not allowing her to say anything more.

"He's back at the dojo." She could hear the hesitation in Hinata's voice as she added, "He seemed very upset."

Those were the last words she heard before darkness took her.

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She woke up again three days later, her head pounding and her limbs as heavy as lead, but feeling significantly better than the last time.

This time, she made sure to sit up slowly. Tenten looked around cautiously. She was in a camp, with a blanket wrapped around her body.

Ino was the first one to notice her. "Tenten!" The blond girl shouted, running across the fire excitedly. "You're up!" Tenten forced out a small smile at the energetic blond.

Her throat was dry but she spoke anyway. "Yeah. How did everything go?"

By now all the other girls had gathered around her, all sporting bright smiles. "That's just like you, Tenten," Sakura sighed. "Thinking about the mission before your own health."

"Yeah, Tenten, you should be more worried about that poison in your system," Ino added.

Instead of freaking out like most other girls might have done, Tenten just cocked her head to the side. "So it was poisoned. No wonder it hurt so much." She let out a strangled laugh.

Sakura slapped her head (gently of course). "How can you act so calm! You could've died!"

The look in her eyes darkened ever so slightly. "That's what's expected when you're a nin—"

"Gee, Sakura, don't hurt the patient," Naruto said, smiling when he saw his pink-haired teammate's face turn red.

"Shut up, Naruto!"

The boys, who she realized must have been in another camp not too far away, had all gathered around her as well. She purposely avoided Neji's eyes, instead looking around the camp at all of the familiar faces. Everything was normal. Her friends were safe. She smiled, a smile tinged with sadness. These were the only people she had left. These were the people she would die for.

Neji watched her (discreetly of course) as she smiled, and the underlying sadness of the expression did not escape his piercing gaze.

He knew this girl sitting before him. He knew her better than anyone else, and he could tell when she was hurting. And she had been hurting. For a long, long time, ever since her parents had died.

And yet, every time he tried to confront her about it, he always seemed to make it worse. He . . . was never good with words and he simply couldn't find the words to tell her that it wasn't her fault (because he knew her better than anyone else, and he _knew_ that she blamed herself for their deaths.) He couldn't bring himself to say how much everyone (how much _he_) was worried about her. He had tried telling her that throwing herself into work wouldn't bring her parents back, but she had cried. And he couldn't stand it when she cried . . .

"Man, don't scare us like that Tenten," Kiba's loud voice broke though his thoughts. He saw the boy patting Tenten on her good shoulder, and a sudden flash of anger jolted though him, though he had no idea why. "We were afraid that we were gonna lose you for awhile there. You were so out of it. Heh, Neji there went on a killing spree from the stress."

Tenten forced herself not to look over at the stoic Hyuuga.

"We're ninja. Killing is what we do," her voice was carefully guarded. She knew that Kiba was expecting some sort of reaction out of her. Both she and Neji were aware (though they had never spoken of it to each other) that their teammates had been trying to 'get them together' for some time now. Trying and failing, of course.

Kiba let out a short laugh. "Nah, you don't understand Tenten. White-eyes over there went crazy. Slashing and dicing like a madman, not to mention being careless and getting injured as well. Neji's wound was second to yours!" He spoke of it as if it was some sort of contest.

This time she couldn't stop herself from turning to glare at Neji. She opened her mouth to speak, but stopped herself. She would talk to him later, when there weren't so many people watching.

It was only then that she realized the numbness of her right arm. She looked down at her hand, trying in vain to flex her fingers. Nothing. _Oh God . . . my fingers. _She gritted her teeth. Of all the places to get stabbed, it just had to be some nerve in her shoulder. With a poisoned kunai! Without further ado, she let out a string of curse words that had even Naruto gaping at her in dismay.

"Tenten, what's wrong?" asked a concerned Hinata.

"My arm." Tenten looked into Hinata's grey eyes, the first trace of panic reflecting in her own hazel orbs. "I can't move my arm."

"Oh…" Hinata bit her lip, looking uncomfortable. Everyone knew how much Tenten valued the use of her arms. After all, her arms controlled her weapons, and her weapons were where most of her strength as a ninja lied. She wasn't called the Weapon's Mistress of Konoha for nothing. "T-the poison…" Hinata's old stuttering was coming back. "It, well, it's still in y-you. And we had to let the wound heal by itself. I-it must be a side effect. I'm sorry, Tenten."

She frowned as she realized how nervous she had made her teammate. "It's alright Hinata. It's nothing." She donned a bright smile. "It just freaked me out at first is all. I'll go—gather firewood or something." Everyone knew she was lying, but no one stopped her as she stumbled up and out of the clearing, her legs wobbling ever so slightly under her.

As she left the camp, all eyes turned on Neji.

"What?" he asked, irritated. They didn't expect _him_ to go out there did they?

"Don't be an idiot. Just go—comfort her or whatever." The comment came from the last person he had ever expected. Sasuke.

"It's none of my business if she's depressed," he replied coolly. Tenten would probably be fine in a matter of time.

"What the hell! Of course it's you business!" Naruto exploded.

"If you guys are so worked up about it, go talk to her yourselves. I'm sure she'll be fine."

"But Neji," Ino began, trying her best to be patient with the stubborn Hyuuga. "You and Tenten are really close and I think she would appreciate it most if you went to talk to h—"

"Ha!" Kiba let out a loud laugh. "He's just scared that Tenten's gonna explode in his face." The Inuzuka let out a snort.

Neji's eye twitched in annoyance. Stupid Kiba. He had never liked that idiotic dog-boy anyway.

"I've already told you, it's none of my business." He wisely chose to not let Kiba's comment faze him. Perhaps he could get him later . . . when there were no witnesses.

Lee suddenly popped up right in front of him. Neji's sensitive eyes were temporarily blinded by the brightness (and corniness) or his teammate's smile. "But it _is_ your business, Neji my eternal rival! You must comfort our youthful flower when she is in her time of need! The power of youth must pre—"

"Alright. Just shut up!" He stalked off in the direction Tenten went. Those idiots. Now he would have to face Tenten when she was angry at him. He hated doing that. (Of course he wasn't actually _afraid_ of her. He was Hyuuga for goodness sake.)

He frowned. Why was she so mad at him anyway? He _saved her life._ Any other girl would have been grateful.

But then again, Tenten was definitely _not_ any other girl.

"What are you doing here," she said, not looking up. Her head was hung low and she was sitting against a sturdy tree trunk, her left arm draped over her knee while her right hung limply at her side.

Neji looked at her blankly, his face betraying nothing. "You've been acting strange lately. I saved your life and you get angry at me for it?" He made sure his voice was as unreadable as his face.

"Do you expect me to thank you?" She finally looked up at him, her eyes as hard and cold as her voice. "You know that it's our job, Neji. As ninja we must be prepared for death at all times—"

"Don't think that you could ever lie to me."

"I'm not lying." Her voice was soft, but strained with emotion.

"You're just using that damn rule as an excuse to throw yourself into dangerous situations that—"

She let out a loud, forced laugh. "_Throw_ myself into dangerous situations? I was trying to _protect_ you! You were _hurt_ and—"

"I can take care of myself Tenten!" He had to yell just to overpower her near hysterical voice.

"No! I won't let you think you're invincible anymore Neji! You can die! I won't let you die!" She was right in front of him now, screaming at him like the heart-broken woman she was.

He stayed silent, taking it all in. Her eyes that looked suspiciously teary, and the way her hands shook ever so slightly. "This isn't just about your arm."

"I don't want to talk about it." She started to turn away from him, but he grabbed her wrist pulling her so close she could feel the heat emanating off of his rather imposing form.

"No. You've ran away from this long enough Tenten." He tried to keep his voice steady as he saw the tears fall from her eyes soundlessly, despite the hardened look that shone in her eyes. He wasn't quite sure why, but something inside of him twisted at the sight.

"I'm not running from anything." Her voice came out soft and unsteady, but she refused to break eye contact with him. She refused to let him think that she was afraid of him seeing her cry.

"You are. These past few months you've been walking around as if you're in some bad dream, Tenten. Just stop. Wake up. I know what it feels like. To lose the people you love," he told her, his breath hot against her face. They were so close.

"You barely knew them." She couldn't help it. She turned away from those damn eyes. _His_ eyes that just seemed to see right through her, to her very soul.

"It doesn't make the pain any less."

"I wasn't strong enough to save them. I—" she finally faltered, choking over her own tears. "I couldn't save them." She looked up at him, and it felt like he had been stabbed. He had never seen her so vulnerable. "I wasn't even able to protect you."

He took her by the shoulders, his grip strong and firm as he pushed her away from him so he could get a better look at her. "Tenten, look at me—"

"If I can't protect the ones I love, then I deserve to die." Her voice was a mere whisper, so soft he had to strain to hear.

"Damn it Tenten! None of it was your fault!" he shouted, shaking her to get her attention. How could she be so stupid? How could she blame herself for something that was completely out of her control?

"Did you hear me? Look at me. Tenten, look at me." Her gaze was somewhere above his shoulder, her eyes empty.

Her eyes strayed over to him, slowly, as if it was a chore to even move. Suddenly, she felt so tired. There wasn't anything left inside of her. Nothing but the burning ache in her heart just wouldn't go away. She had tried to bear it, tried to act as if nothing was going on; but it couldn't be ignored. And now she had messed everything up. She had told Neji, the last person she would ever want to see her like this.

"Just go away. I'm tired."

The look in her eyes scared him. What was wrong with her? It scared him that she was looking at him, but she didn't see him. Tenten had never done that before, not to him. She was the _only_ one who could ever really see him. Why couldn't she see him now?

Finally, her eyes seemed to focus in on him. He let out the breath he didn't know he was holding. "Please Neji. Just leave."

"It's not your fault."

She only gave him a sad little smile. "Of course it is."

"Don't be like this."

"Be like what?" That same sad smile was on her face. That smile that didn't reach her eyes.

"My mother died giving birth to me," he said suddenly. "If only I hadn't been born . . . she would still be alive. It was my fault. It was all my fault. Am I right Tenten?"

She looked shocked, standing there, her puffy eyes wide and her mouth hanging open slightly. "O-of course it isn't your fault." Why hadn't he told her before? Why was he telling her all of these things now?

"And my father. If only I had been strong enough to protect him. If only I had been strong enough to stop him from going; smart enough to figure out what the Main House was planning, then he would be alive. It's my fault he died, isn't it Tenten?"

"N-no." She swallowed. She could barely recognize her own voice, raspy and scratchy from crying.

Neji just stood there, looking intently at her. "Why isn't it my fault? It should be, shouldn't it?"

"Those things . . . they just happened. There was nothing you could have done to stop it . . ." she trailed off, suddenly realizing what he was doing.

She could have swore she saw his lip twitch upward, ever so slightly.

And then, she was in his arms and all she could do was revel in the feeling of her body being crushed against his in a gentle, but firm hug.

"Neji?" Tenten said after standing like that for a few moments. He looked down at her with eyes that suddenly didn't seem so blank. "Thanks."

Everything about her seemed to be lit up, as if after all these months, Tenten was finally beginning to heal again. And even though her hair hung down in messy strands around her face, and her eyes were still red from crying, her smile was the most beautiful smile he had ever seen.

And before either of them knew what was even happening, their lips were entangled in a sudden, passionate kiss. And it was then that both Neji and Tenten realized what they had known all along. They had fallen in love.

**The End**

A/N: Alright, thank you for reading this and please review. I'd like to hear everyone's thoughts on this. Thanks! Bye!

nothing but blue . . .


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